The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 19, 2019
Filed:
Jun. 13, 2016
The Regents of the University of California, Oakland, CA (US);
Sameer B. Shah, San Diego, CA (US);
Johnathan L. Le, Fontana, CA (US);
Daniel Moskowitz, Los Osos, CA (US);
Fabian Ramirez, Modesto, CA (US);
Aileen Tran, West Covina, CA (US);
Nathan Delson, San Diego, CA (US);
THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, Oakland, CA (US);
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Washington, DC (US);
Abstract
Systems and methods disclosed stimulate nerve growth by applying a tensile (axial pulling) load on a proximal stump of the nerve. This load may be imposed once, at the time of repair. This implementation may be advantageously employed to remove tension away from the repair site, for any number of soft tissues, e.g., nerves, ligaments, tendons, and so on. Alternately, for a larger gap, by progressively elongating a nerve through tensile stimulation, the nerve may regenerate and be fully functional, particularly if elongated at a proper rate. After sufficient regrowth, nerve ends may be reattached, resulting in more complete functional recovery. Two implementations, which have been embodied in prototype devices, also include particularly useful features, one of which uses a screw and clamp with slotted insert design, and the other of which enables the use of sutures or straps to secure the tissue to the clamp.